Deadline Date: March 27, 2026
The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 award invites innovative and committed entrepreneurs from across Switzerland to participate in a prestigious program that celebrates leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurial excellence.
The program focuses on recognizing founders and business leaders who demonstrate strong leadership in their companies, active management of day-to-day operations, and significant ownership in their businesses. It highlights companies headquartered in Switzerland that generate a substantial portion of their value within the country and have demonstrated financial performance through notable revenue generation. The initiative also emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurial continuity through family businesses where multiple generations hold leadership roles, as well as the growth of scale-ups that have achieved significant funding or revenue milestones.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year program is organized by EY, an auditing and consulting firm that has been running the initiative in Switzerland for 29 years. The award is part of a year-round program designed to create opportunities for exchange, networking, and enhanced visibility among entrepreneurs within a strong business community.
To be eligible, nominees must be founders and/or CEOs of private or public companies and must be responsible for the day-to-day operations of their businesses. Co-founders are also eligible, with a maximum of three allowed in a nomination. Non-founding entrepreneurs can qualify if they manage the business and assume the associated risks. In addition, nominees must have held their current leadership position for at least two years before the application deadline and must own significant shares in the company. An entrepreneur may apply to the program up to three times.
The company associated with the nominee must be at least two years old by the application deadline and must have its headquarters located in Switzerland. It must also generate a significant proportion of its value within the country and have recorded revenue of at least CHF 10 million in the previous fiscal year. Companies that qualify as family businesses must have at least three generations of family members actively involved in running the organization while holding key leadership roles.
For the Scale-up Leaders category, companies may be up to eight years old and must have achieved a minimum revenue of CHF 1 million or secured at least CHF 5 million in funding. This category aims to highlight emerging businesses that demonstrate strong growth potential and entrepreneurial impact.
For more information, visit EY.
